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The Ten Kings
The Ten Kings are ten powers whom pledged loyalty to the Sky Lord during the War of the Gods two thousand years in the past. In exchange for their loyalty, the Sky Lord blessed them with unnatural, long lives and augmented them with his power, enhancing their various gifts. Each king is considered a general in the Legion of the Sky, the Sky Lord's army, and Zouis is chief among them. They have existed at odds with the Empire for all of their years of existence. The Ten Kings, Emperor Conan and the Free Land Immortals have maintained a truce for all of the time from the Sealing to the present day, though that truce has, at times, been threatened. Members Zouis Zouis is the king of Hollow. His title among the Ten Kings is Lord of the Legion, and he has final say in all decisions made by their order as they pertain to geopolitical affairs. Zouis has been an enigmatic figure to his enemies and allies alike, whom have little understanding for what caused him to go over to the Sky Lord, or why he remains loyal to Him. Zouis was once the Secret Keeper of the Grand Forge, having served under the fox queen as a guide to the students of her school. His betrayal came as a massive blow to her and her allies, as Zouis was the greatest enchanter of his time. Neldeva Neldeva hails from the Clans, a group of indigenous peoples of the Pure World whom are often thought to be the original possessors or the creators of Gifts of the Blood (innate magical talents that some mages are born with). Neldeva was a Draem, or dream walker, of uncommon skill. She is thought to be the first person to discover the three taboos of dream walking, having explored the limits of a Draem's power more thoroughly than any before her, and possibly than anyone who came after her. She is second in power to Zouis, though the two do not get along. Her kingdom is Ursuil, which she rules in secret via proxies whose original consciousnesses have been altered to suit her purposes. Jesha Jesha is the father of script magic. He is branded with 28 tattoos, each representing a rite which draws its power from the intimate connection between the cosmic orchestra, the driving force behind magic, and his flesh. He is of equal raw power to Neldeva, and is a Shield, capable of withstanding her Gift of the Draem via an inate Gift of the Blood he was born with. Jesha rules in Kore, and is revered there as the God King. His people are fanatically devoted to him. Arganon Arganon is considered to be the most powerful Whisperer of all time. He was born with a Gift of the Blood which places others at ease around him, making them want to believe the words he speaks, even when those words plainly contradict each other. During the War of the Gods, his gift shattered alliances that had existed for decades or centuries. He rules in Ciraccus through proxy kings, all of whom have been exposed to his gift. Shields are outlawed in Ciraccus. The penalty for entering the country as a person in possession of the gift is death. Llayne Llayne is the lover to Arganon and queen of Demeli. She was formerly married to the Lord of Ash Island in the Empire. She is among the strongest of the Ten Kings in terms of raw power, with an unpredictable temperament and a love of cruelty. Her kingdom is the most lawless of all of them, and the most dangerous for travelers as a result. She is also the diplomatic arm of the Ten Kings, being the only one among them who is not bound by treaty not to pass the border between the Ten Kingdoms and the Free Lands. Of all of the signators of the treaty, only the Earth Child in Gourum and the Shadow Queen in the Empire are similarly granted such freedom. Omari Called Crocodile by his people, Omari is the king of Jarra. Jarra is the most sparsely populated of the ten kingdoms, with a decentralized political structure. Omari is the most powerful chief in the nation, having fostered a headhunter culture within his tribe that has infested most of this territory. Omari is a cannibal, and conducts raids on other tribes as both a means of asserting dominance and rooting out the weak. During the war of the Gods, Zouis used the threat of unleashing Omari on his enemies to sew fear into them. Often, those enemies would willingly surrender to his demands before Omari and his headhunters had any chance to rampage through their cities. Arador Arador is the king of Croll and the creator of the Eastern Zombi, Romulin and Blackheart. His creations are connected to a hive mind with him at the center. Through this network of eyes and ears, he maintains an iron fisted hold on power in his nation, removing even the pettiest criminals from the streets before they have any chance to organize. His nation is rigidly lawful, devoid of crime, but some among his citizens question whether his methods are moral. Absoel Absoel is the spymaster of the Legion of the Sky, possessing the broadest network of agents among the Ten Kingdoms. Her spies span across the world. She is the Legions strongest healer, and is thus exceptionally adept at unbinding the healing performed by others. During the War of the Gods, her appearance in battle struck so much fear into her enemies that they adopted the name Absoel del Gromion Coteir, or Absoel of the Blood Rain. Absoel's kingdom is Cassus, and her city exists in a lake of pure water. The best whorehouses are said to be in Cassus, though would be patrons are warned to watch their tongues when visiting, as anything they say may well wind up finding its way to Absoel's ears. Gayrval Gayrval's name is the subject of many a children's tale. It is used as a warning throughout Etherel to children to be mindful of their parents, and never to run too far from them. Gayrval is the creator of a magical form of vampirism, through which he consumes the vitality of his victims. Children, having the most life left to live and being the least capable of defending themselves, are his preferred prey. Through his rite, he gains half as many years of continued life as they have to live, and through experiments in necromancy, he has created an army of zombies of their corpses. Zouis often used Gayrval's name during the War of the Gods for the purpose of diplomacy, offering favorable treatment with one hand while threatening the lives of the children of those he dealt with should they disobey him. If a foreign dignitary offended the Ten Kings in some way, Gayrval would often act on his own, stealing their children, drainign them of their life essence, and sending their animated corpses back to the offending parents. Few survived these encounters, and those that did would not leave them undamaged. Gayrval rules in Manathel, through proxies. Baris Baris is the king of Gorozoan. He is an accomplished Life Mage, and is considered to be the first to have broken the taboo surrounding the manipulation of animal life. Life mages before him manipulated plants and fungi to various effects, causing trees to grow tall and strong in seconds, creating plants with sentience, and the like. Baris broke the taboo upon the art by blending the essences of humans and ravens, creating the first Grimwok. Baris is a gifted strategist, considered the best mind for war next to Zouis among the Ten Kings. His Grimwok are among the most feared and respected military forces throughout Etherel, on par with the Prophets of Mirrhvale, the Bloodless of Shadovane, and the Ironclad of Gourum. Motivation The Ten Kings primary goal is to release the Sky Lord from his prison under the Tree of Souls and usher in a new era with Him as supreme ruler. Their individual motivations range broadly from Llayne, who lives for chaos, to Absoel, who seeks eternal beauty. The Ten Kings will stop at nothing to achieve their ends, and have employed tactics in the past that at best violate political norms, and at worst violate natural law. Current Status Alive *Zouis: In Hollow at Vorces *Neldeva: In Ursuil *Jesha: In Kore at Jakar *Arganon: In Ciraccus at Jomal *Llayne: In the Empire at Shadovane *Omari: In Jarra at Butuari *Arador: In Croll at Dungeoness *Absoel: In Cassus at Cassus *Gayrval: In Manathel *Baris: In Gorozoan at Jozz Other The original order of the Legion of the Sky was comprised of fifteen generals and their armies. Five of those were killed or captured during the War of the Gods. Held in Suspension *Ferenze: Held in the Grand Forge by an order of enchanters called Witches, who are specialized in cursebreaking. Deceased *Berseph: Killed in Laula during the Battle of the Oracle Shrine *Zaigaz: Killed in Del Zaros during the unsuccessful Seige on the Wall *Eriadne: Killed in her hideout in the Island Country by Esmerelda. *Sel Kriz: Killed by Sura in the Battle of Maul Nepherim